4 Reasons The GOP Vote To Repeal Obamacare Isn’t Just Symbolic

Yesterday, the House voted 245 to 189 to repeal the job-killing Obamacare bill. Is this bill going to pass the Senate? It seems unlikely. Even if it did, would Obama veto it? Yes. So, this vote is not going to actually lead to the repeal of the job-killing, death-panel-creating government takeover of health care. That makes some people wonder: Does it matter? It most certainly does. Here’s why….

1) It sets the tone for the GOP over the next two years on this issue: There are always going to be squishes who don’t want to fight for anything, who’ll say we should just give in on Obamacare. Well, when every single Republican in the House, including the blue-staters and squishes, vote in favor of repealing Obamacare, it sends a message: This is the party’s position on the job-killing health care reform bill. You now know where we stand on this just as certainly as you know where we stand on the 2nd Amendment or abortion. Going the wrong way on it? That could be a career killer for a Republican.

2) It represents the rubber meeting the road: The American people and the base lost faith in the Republican Party in 2006 and 2008. In 2010, the GOP really wasn’t in position to do much of anything. In 2011, at least in the House, they’re running the show now. So, are they going to prove they finally “get it?” Votes like this will give the GOP a chance to show they’ve gotten the message and changed their ways — and make no mistake about it, since the GOP won in 2010 in large part because of Obamacare, this vote means a lot even if it doesn’t pass the Senate.

3) It makes Democrats go on the record on a really unpopular bill: As of right now, this is an ENORMOUS winning issue for Republicans and don’t think Democrats don’t know it. A lot of them ran from this bill like a scalded cat in the 2010 elections. However, since the job-killing, death-panel-creating government takeover of health care doesn’t fully take effect until 2014, it’s likely to still be a huge issue in the 2012 elections. So, let’s get everybody on the record with a vote. If you’re a blue dog Democrat, you don’t get to hide from the issue next time around: You either vote to repeal it or you’re in favor of it.

4) This may help influence the courts: Whether Obamacare is constitutional or not is going to eventually be decided in the Supreme Court and although public opinion and the actions of Congress SHOULDN’T have any bearing on the court’s ruling in this case, the honest truth is it may play a role. The fact that we have a large majority in the House that wants the bill repealed and a majority of states suing to stop it may actually help swing Anthony Kennedy over to our side.